No matter how many ups and downs I go through, how come every time I'm down, it feels like I'm trapped and I'm never going to get out?

Your perception collapses and you become incapable of ever seeing the situation improving, for example; If you have ever been in a car in busy traffic and someone speeds past you and undercuts you and almost causes a collision, for that small moment, your perception collapses and all you focus on is that one car speeding off, and maybe all you think about is what almost happened - however eventually your perception would return to normal, you probably would have even forgotten about it. However with these "down" periods in our life, we become somewhat trapped in this collapsed perception saying things won't improve and that we aren't ever "going to get out". However I assure you from personal experience, recovering and getting through it all, is past possible. I believe in you!

When I felt like that, I learned it was because of depression and I talked to my mom and my doctor. Since then I actually feel like I'm out of the hole.

When you're down, you are blinded by your own emotions. You feel incapable to do anything, you never know there's a hope. But soon you realize, it just doesn't end there.

Although it is difficult to push through a tough time, it is incredibly possible, and you can do it!

It feels like the downs will always stay and that the ups will never come. That is how it feels sometimes, though. The ups will happen though. It is darkest before dawn. The ups are just around the corner, give it time. Everything will get better.

There isn't a one answer fits all to this question. Everybody is different. If you feel that you are experiencing difficulties beyond your control or that your life is feeling that way, perhaps prioritizing things can help. Such as making a list of things you can work on, talking with a trusted person. Or even seeking help through a counselor or therapist or Life coach can help.

People like to be happy. It's part of being human. When we're happy, everything seems right in the world- or at least, mostly right. When we're down, however, we start to focus on the negative forces that impact our lives. When we're happy, we can ignore these easier, but when we're down, it seems like the negative is all-consuming, and all that exists.

be strong. be confident. learn from your mistakes. be positive. think that you are strong enough to handle all that you are and have been going through and probably you need to be more strong than ever, so you are still feeling trapped.

It sounds like exactly when you are down. I do feel that too. I imagine sad, unmotivated, and stuck companies at the time. Others may feels different depends on what they are facing that make them down. After you aware what important next is remember to seek help or solution of the situation. Sometimes it may take time to progress but it is normal. Talk or let it out of your chest is the most helpful tool when I am down based on my experience. Maybe you hear it so often it becomes cliche, sometimes it just hard to talk about it. I can relate. Your feeling is real but your choice about how to respond.

Your perception collapses and you become incapable of ever seeing the situation improving, for example; If you have ever been in a car in busy traffic and someone speeds past you and undercuts you and almost causes a collision, for that small moment, your perception collapses and all you focus on is that one car speeding off, and maybe all you think about is what almost happened - however eventually your perception would return to normal, you probably would have even forgotten about it. However with these "down" periods in our life, we become somewhat trapped in this collapsed perception saying things won't improve and that we aren't ever "going to get out". However I assure you from personal experience, recovering and getting through it all, is past possible. I believe in you!

I've experienced a lot of that feeling in my life, and what made it worse was to think that it was not normal, and something was wrong with me. The thing is that we don't learn or heal in a linear way at all. We learn/heal in curves, in "spirals" or cycles. Everytime you feel like you're back in the same pit you've been in countless times before, try to remember that it is normal and that nothing has gone wrong if you've relapsed". Cause that's unfortunately how it works: we heal more deeply everytime, and each time it gets a little bit better, and a little bit better, until it's good. :) Also, it is the nature of pain/feeling down to make us feel like it's not okay to feel a certain way, and also that we are alone in pain, and that there is something wrong with us for feeling that way. Yet again, there is nothing wrong with you for feeling the way you feel, we all exprience that when in pain, unfortunately :/ (until we learn to be aware of that when it happens, and then we can find relief). So there are two ways to look at this: one is that you always go down after "being up", the other is that you always go "up" after being down :). It can help to remember that.

This is a normal emotion for many of us, even the happiest of people get this feeling. Realising it’s normal is half the issue. Some people feel a sense of depression or some anxious feelings when they have downs which can correlate to that trapped feeling that you mentioned. We are all human after all. I highly recommend checking out the anxiety guide on 7 cups. If it becomes overwhelming you can always talk to a listener, we are here for you 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. There’s always someone here for you and you’re never alone.